How to install Workplace OneDrive on computer - We can only get the personal app

Question

Hi, my friend has a personal MS account using her yahoo email and a professional 365 account using a business email. She's not having this problem on her desktop computer only her laptop.

She can log into her Workplace OneDrive account with a browser. We logged into OneDrive.com with her 365 account and downloaded the OneDrive. We've tried installing it a few times. We even restarted and tried again. Still no blue icon - even if I search for it.

Does anyone know what the problem is?

Thanks

Answer 1

Hi @Kevin Drew,

This is a very common point of confusion, so please don’t worry, you’re certainly not alone.

To clarify, there isn’t a separate Workplace or Business version of the OneDrive app. Instead, the same OneDrive sync client on Windows supports both Personal and Work/School accounts. The only difference is the type of account you sign in with.

Based on your description, it’s likely that the laptop either doesn’t have the OneDrive sync client installed, or it has been replaced with the Microsoft Store OneDrive viewer app, which does not handle syncing.

1/ Confirm the correct OneDrive sync client is installed:

First, please make sure the full OneDrive sync client is installed, not just the Microsoft Store app.

Microsoft refers to the sync client as “Microsoft OneDrive”, which is responsible for backing up and syncing files. By contrast, the Microsoft Store app “OneDrive by Microsoft Corporation” is primarily a viewer and does not perform syncing.

To check:

Go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps

Look for Microsoft OneDrive

If you only see the Store version of OneDrive (or don’t see OneDrive at all), you’ll need to install the sync client using Microsoft’s official download link.

2/ Install or reinstall OneDrive using the supported method:

Microsoft recommends installing OneDrive for Windows directly from the official OneDrive download page.

If OneDrive appears to be missing, stuck, or not working as expected, a clean reinstall often resolves the issue. To do this:

• Uninstall Microsoft OneDrive from Add or remove programs
• Download and reinstall it from Microsoft’s OneDrive website

Please note that reinstalling OneDrive resets its settings and triggers a full resync. However, all files remain safely available online at OneDrive.com.

You can find more details here: Reinstall OneDrive

3/ Verify that OneDrive is running:

If you don’t see any OneDrive cloud icon in the system tray, it may be hidden, not running, or not installed.

You can try the following:

• Click the ^ arrow near the clock to check hidden icons
• Open Start, type OneDrive, and launch it (If OneDrive is installed, this will start the setup wizard.)

4/ Add the Work/School account (this creates the blue cloud icon):

Once OneDrive is running:

• Open OneDrive settings
• Go to the Account tab
• Select Add an account
• Sign in using your Microsoft 365 work or school credentials

After setup, Windows typically shows:

• OneDrive – Personal
• OneDrive – [Company Name]

You’ll also notice different icon colors:

• Blue cloud = Work/School account
• White cloud = Personal account

If both accounts are signed in, you’ll see two OneDrive icons.

If the problem continues after trying these steps, please feel free to reach out again and share any additional details, or let me know if you need further assistance. I’ll be more than happy to help.

I look forward to your reply.

---

If the answer is helpful, click on "Accept Answer" and please vote positively. If you have additional questions about this answer, click on "Comment".

Note: Follow the steps in our documentation to enable email notifications if you want to receive the email notification related to this thread.

Answer 2

On Windows 10 or 11 there is only one OneDrive sync app (onedrive.exe) that handles both personal and work/school accounts. The “personal” vs “work” difference is determined by the account used to sign in, not by different installers.

On the laptop, do the following to get the work OneDrive showing and syncing:

1. Verify OneDrive is installed
   • On Windows 10/11, OneDrive is built in. If it was removed, reinstall it using the steps in Sync files with OneDrive in Windows under “Install and set up”.
   • If the laptop is not on Windows 10/11 or Office 2016, install the Windows version of the new OneDrive sync app from the link in that article.
2. Start OneDrive setup with no accounts signed in
   • Open Start and search for OneDrive. If it appears, run it.
   • If no accounts are signed in, follow Method 1: If you have no accounts signed in to OneDrive in the same article.
   • When prompted, sign in with the work/business Microsoft 365 account (the professional 365 email), not the personal Yahoo-based Microsoft account.
3. If a personal account is already signed in
   • If OneDrive opens and shows only the personal account, use the guidance under “If you already have an account signed in to OneDrive” in the same article to add an account, and then add the work account.
   • After adding the work account, a second OneDrive location (usually labeled “OneDrive – <organization name>”) should appear in File Explorer.
4. Check profile and environment limitations
   If setup never finishes or the blue work OneDrive icon never appears, check whether the laptop is using a roaming, mandatory, or temporary profile, or is connecting through Windows Server 2008/2012 RDS/Terminal Services. The OneDrive sync app is not supported in those scenarios and requires:
   • Installation on the local computer
   • Ability for the user to write to the user profile
   • Data written to the profile being stored on the local hard disk and available offline

If the laptop is using one of those unsupported profile types or environments, OneDrive for work or school will not install or run correctly until the profile/environment is changed to a supported configuration.

---

References:

• Sync files with OneDrive in Windows
• OneDrive sync app doesn't finish installing, or setup runs every time that you sign in to your Windows profile